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Sunday, October 10, 2004
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Virginia McCorkell
Ginny McCorkell

FAMILY UPDATE
by Virginia McCorkell

The very first thing I do when I receive The Bulletin is quickly scroll down to see what there are for pictures ... so what better way to introduce myself than with a picture! Virginia McCorkell is one of the names that I answer to. Around family I am more often called Ginny. For computer communications I took on the name of "bitzi." I have a few friends who know me as "ditto." One of my quilting buddies is also named Virginia ... Ginny ... or Ditto 2. Okay, so that is an overdose on names!

LeRoy and Vonnie Dake are my parents, Ernie Dake is my older brother and Larry Dake is my "little" brother ... though he doesn’t exactly qualify as little. I have been married to Larry McCorkell for many long years ... how many ... uh, let me get the calculator.... Ah, yes ... looks like about 32 years. We have one daughter, Suzanne Jane McCorkell. She is "our family," as I have been saying for over 30 years now.

I guess you could call me the domestic sort ... though that doesn't necessarily include cleaning house and cooking. I do not work out of the home, so I find ways to entertain myself at home ... when I'm not shopping! I have been cutting back on the shopping part of my career as my hubby is facing a career change in the near future. My focus lately has been on quilting ... with emphasis on working from my stash of fabric rather than buying more.

Larry Mc has worked for a company called ATK for over 20 years now. They recently moved the company to West Virginia. He was kept on to the very last to oversee the move and clearing out the building. That is nearly completed, so within weeks we will be unemployed. Anybody know of a job opening for a plant engineer? Actually he "may" get transferred to another plant up at Anoka ... interview is on Monday. I really am not anxious for him to take that job, though. How can a "morning" person work the night shift???!!!

Suzanne is starting her seventh year in the ministry. She was in Wisconsin for four years. Then she went to North Carolina. Her first year there she was near the Appalachian Mountains. On one of our trips to see her we saw the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fog. All we could see were the shoulders of the road! The next trip we saw it on a beautiful day and there were even a few rhododendrons still blooming.

Last year she was on the east coast of North Carolina. We rented a place to stay on the ocean so we could watch the sunrise over the ocean ... you guessed it ... we saw fog instead! She will be back in the same area this year, so maybe we will see it in sunshine?!! She was in Alabama and now she is over in Mississippi for conventions ... but soon she will return to North Carolina and we have hopes of going to see her before we get involved in the next job!

Another day.....

Ginny


FAMILY REUNIONS UPDATE
by Gert (Dake) Pettit
(The youngest of the older Dakes)

It is so great to keep in touch with relatives. Finding ones you never knew or never heard about before is really something. Ardis and I met a fellow from Prior Lake whose name is Gary Larson. His mother was a great granddaughter of Phil Greer. We Dake kids had a step-grandpa, Ed Greer, who was a brother of Phil. Anyway, the Greer relatives had a first ever family reunion this September and I was invited to attend, which I did -- thanks to Gary. The ladies I met e-mailed me and said when they came down to visit the last person who has the Greer name, they will let me know so we can get together again.

Harry Greer is a resident of the Brookridge assisted care home in Cokato. I work at the nursing home, which is attached the assisted care home. And then, what really amazed me, is that my Step Grandpa Ed, who meant a lot to me, was more than just that. I find out that the Greers came from the same place in Canada where our Grandpa Mellon came from, and that our Great Grandma Mellon (Ellis) was related to the Greers. Leroy or Dorothy, did you know that?

Editor's comment: That does "ring a bell" -- but I hadn't thought of it for years! I am so glad you went and renewed old connections! ~DMA

Then, through the e-mail, we got acquainted with Lane Alexander from Washington State. Her Great Grandma Sara and our Grandma Greer were sisters. She e-mailed us the snapshot taken of our Mom and Dad on their wedding day. Now that really blew the mind!

Editor's comment: I do remember Sara (Grandma called her Sarie) from a Cheney reunion that the folks hosted at our home. ~DMA

Ardis and I have been to the house of Justine Anderson in Watertown; she is from the Doyle side, which was our Grandma Mellon's side.

Oh, yes, Grandma Dake and I met a man, H. Clark Failes from Ogden, Utah. His great grandpa and our great grandma, Kazia (Geer) Dake, were brother and sister. He came (many years ago) and took me to a Geer family reunion up at Spicer. Some of those people knew Carolyn's mother.

And the most fun was a couple of years ago, when Ardis and I flew up to South Mountain, Ontario, Canada, to the Mellan/Mellon reunion. Everyone treated us so great. And then, during the summer last year, one of the younger relatives from up there came through here with his motorcycle and stopped at my house. I wasn't home, so he went on to Ardis and Charlie's and spent the night with them.

This probably isn't interesting to anybody but my brother and sister, but for the rest of you -- it's just me telling you -- don't lose track of your relatives.

Just another line... Duane and I were talking before the picnic. (He had said he would host it, but I wanted to this year.) I said, "What would happen if one of the cousins out of Minnesota would want to host it one year?" Duane said, "We'd just rent a bus and go." Doesn't that sound interesting?

STUDENT UPDATE
by Heidi Johnson

It is starting to feel a lot like fall here, in New Mexico... It's weird how much it feels like Minnesota. I think this is going to be the time of year when I miss home most. But I guess I'll make it:) I'm getting really excited to spend the week before Ben's wedding in Minnesota.

Work is going well, although I have a hard time being around all the new fall clothes ... I want to buy everything! Ack! I guess the company is opening a Ann Taylor Loft store here in town. Banana Republic is to Gap as Ann Taylor is to Ann Taylor Loft. In other words, Loft is a more trendy casual and cheaper store. So that will be cool. I'm half entertaining the idea of moving to that store, as the hours are shorter and it's not in a mall, so it would be pretty fun... Who knows what will happen, though!

Heidi


STUDENT UPDATE
by Dan Henderson

This semester is one of my hardest ones yet. I have dynamics, calculus 3, mechanics of materials, linear algebra, manufacturing processes lecture and lab, and Pro/E so it's a pretty full schedule. I had three tests the week before last, two last week, and one tomorrow, so I have been busy.

Classes have been going well and life in general continues to fly by. The weather up here in Fargo has been pretty nice; however, some days have been fairly cool. Fargo continues to grow like crazy. There is always a new apartment or townhouse going up somewhere.

Ben and I are on a intramural football team on Monday evenings, so we have enjoyed that. It's kind of a full contact flag football game and they are pretty competitive. Other than that, we get up to open gym at school once and a while to play basketball.

Gina is doing well, says to say hi. She has a lighter load this semester but works part time at Bethany Homes (a nursing home in town). I do studies at Pracs Institute (just had one the last two weekends). They pay good money and give you plenty of time to do your homework.

Just read the e-mail about our family meeting down in Alexandria; that sounds like fun! Hope you see you soon; it's been a while. I have a dynamics test tomorrow, so I better get studying.


NEW BABY UPDATE
by Wyatt Johnson

Brooklyn & Rylie Johnson & cousins
Brooklynn at home with big sister, Rylie, & visiting cousins

We don't have a picture of all of us together yet, and didn’t really feel like taking one tonight, so I'll send this one. This is from Sunday, when Jolene's family came to visit. These kids are all of Rylie's cousins on Jolene’s side. From left are Rylie, Hannah, Grant (holding Brook), and Vincent. Hannah is the daughter of Jolene's brother Scott, and his wife Joy, who live in West Fargo. Grant and Vincent are the sons of Jolene's brother Todd, and his wife Brit, who live in Ashby. Vincent spends time at the farm at Donna's day care. They all had a TON of fun playing together Sunday!


Naturally, there was quite a bit more to the story than I left you with on Saturday morning, a few hours after Brooklyn was born. Here's "The rest of the story" ... for the next Bulletin.

Jolene called me at work Friday morning, but a co-worker, Glen, was at my desk, and Jolene asked me if I was busy. I said "Yeah, there's someone at my desk," so she said she'd call back a little later.

Since she was so nonchalant, I thought she must have thought of something else she wanted me to get at the grocery store after work. Glen left, and notoriously longwinded Ganesh came to my desk. Ten minutes later, the phone rang again, and I, cherishing the opportunity to send Ganesh on his way, told him I needed to take the call. It was Jolene, and she said she'd been having contractions 5 to 10 minutes apart all morning, but they were very light, so she was going to wait it out.

Later on, she called again, and said she was going up to the birth center at 3 to have them decide if she should stay or not. At 3:30, she called again, and said the contractions had basically stopped, and she wasn't sure what she was going to do. I told her I felt like she should head up there anyway. She agreed. I called my mom to warn her that I may be calling soon to have her come.

At about 4:30, Jolene called and said they were keeping her, but it was no hurry, because they had told her she COULD go home if she wanted to be more comfortable for a couple hours. So we decided I'd just wait at home until mom got here to watch Rylie. I called Mom, and she began her hour and a half trip up. Mom got here a little before 6:30, and I took off for the hospital. I was there by about 6:35, and they had just broken Jolene's water a little before that.

About 10 minutes after I got there, she had her first bad contraction. Right after that first bad one, they came in to give her the epidural. As they sat her up (now nearing 7:00) to put the needle in her back, she had an excruciatingly painful contraction, and they decided it was too late for the drugs. The doctor, however, wasn't there yet, so they laid Jolene back down, and told her she needed to resist the urge to push. I did my best to help her blow through the contractions (it's tough to see anyone in that much pain, especially your wife), and she was amazingly tough.

The doctor got in the room at about 5 or 10 after 7, and everything was set up. She pushed on the first contraction, and we could see the head. She pushed on the second contraction, and out came Brook! Luckily the labor didn't take too long. The "closer" (me) got there for the last inning to save the game, and everyone is now happy and healthy. I was only there for about 40 minutes before she was born! The nurses said they've seen quite a few husbands miss the birth of their second child because things go so quickly.

Rylie came to the hospital around 9 Saturday morning, and was very tentative at first. She warmed up a little, and then she and I went out to do some shopping and get some Chicken McNuggets, naturally making things a lot better. We got back around 1, and she spent over six hours there watching movies and snuggling in. She's already got a possessive streak about her: "That's MY brother!" ("No, Rylie, she's a girl; she's your SISTER!") "That's MY sister!!" She really wanted to take her home today, so I'd say that's a good sign.

Brooklynn's a good baby so far, she's eating a lot better than Rylie did to start with, and she only messes her pants when I hold her. We think she looks A LOT like Rylie did when she was born. Jolene is looking and feeling great today, obviously pretty tired out. We had a nice, quiet family day today with Rylie there, which was a lot of fun. (We watched Lady and the Tramp 2 five times today!)

Rylie and I are home tonight, as there's no way I was spending another night on that 4 foot, 6 inch, "bed" they have for dads in the room. I can't believe I slept two nights on that thing last time. I think the fact that I was two years younger made it barely possible.

It sounds like they'll be coming home tomorrow! We're all very excited, and feel truly blessed to have another beautiful daughter.

Wyatt


FAMILY HISTORY UPDATE (feedback, Waverly Store)
by Tom Mellon

My brother, Dan, sent me your newsletter article about our Great Grandfather Alonzo. I wasn't able to open the photo, but I'm sure I know the photo you used; of him holding me when I was around 2 years old (1947-48) in front of the store. You can see part of the Mellon name on the glass. (Click here to see the photo in Bulletin #121.)

I was not aware of your newsletter, but would be happy to submit whenever there's something worthwhile. Such as: Are you familiar with the stories of Sport, the dog A.S. gave us, being used by my mother and father to send messages between home and the store and the role Wheaties cereal played in it?

For general family tree information, I was married and divorced. I have a son, Tim, married to Kim, with two children: Wyatt, age 7, and Kelli, age 5.

You may or may not be aware of a small tradition in naming the first son of each generation. It goes like this:

Alonzo S. had a son named
Everett Alonzo, who had a son named
Roland Everett (my dad, born in 1923); my name is
Thomas Roland (born 1945), my son is
Timothy Thomas (born 1969), his son is
Wyatt Timothy (born 1997).

I'm in the middle of moving and won't be on line for a while, but you can send to my work address. If you would like to include us in your newsletter, we would appreciate it very much. And thanks for keeping the chronicle on the extended family. You refer to people here I've never heard of, as they haven't heard of me.

This has been fun thinking of some of these things; I think it's terrific that you've taken the time and interest to connect a spread out family. Thanks!

Tom Mellon


Sport's Story
by Tom Mellon

Whenever I tell this story about Sport, people ask me if I grew up in Mayberry...

We didn't have a telephone in Waverly, so if my mother wanted to send a message to my father (at work in the store) she would place a note under Sport's collar and send him into town.

The problem was, the doctor in town had a German Shepherd named Major. Major and Sport were bitter enemies. If Sport and Major encountered each other, it always resulted in a vicious fight, and the message wouldn't be delivered. Sport would often disappear for days afterward to lick his wounds around woods or lake.

But my mother found a solution. Sport loved Wheaties. He would do anything to get a bowl of Wheaties. So my mother would put the Wheaties box in Sport's mouth and send him into town. If he met Major he would not put down the box to fight -- so the message was delivered. Dad would reward Sport by pouring him a bowl of Wheaties when he arrived at the store. The replies were sent home the same way.


Day to Day R
With Donna Mae
Ashby, MN

One for the road...

I had Jayce along for a visit to Alexandria, to see Mom & Dad, this week. Appears to me he pretty well has my father wrapped around his little finger. So when he asked Grandpa for a cookie, of course he got it. Grandpa gave him two cookies, intending one to be for Caity. But she was busy doing her homework and didn't notice. Jayce sat down at the table and proceeded to eat both of the cookies. When Dad realized what he'd been up to, he went and got two for Caity, to make up for her not getting one.

Soon Jayce came back to Grandpa and asked, "I'm still hungry, could I have just one LITTLE cookie?" Dad took him over to the cookie jar and he requested a little vanilla cookie with a cream center. I heard more rustling, though, and as Jayce came back into the room, not only was he eating the vanilla cookie, he had a chocolate one in a plastic bag. When I looked at it, he said, "One for the road, Grandma!"

On the same trip, Dad gave him a pair of "Tweety Bird" slippers. Which he was very happy with, after he got over his first impression, that they were "GIRL Tweeties"!


Caity, at Itasca State Park, & Jayce, at Bemidji State Park

Reprinted from The Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, MN, September 28, 2004

Beaver & his essay in Legionnaire

Johnson wins essay contest
By Sonja Hegman

David Johnson never expected to win a national award for an essay he wrote in an online writing class.

But over Labor Day weekend, he did.

Johnson's "Memorial Day in Ashby" essay won a writing award from the National Association of Legion Newspapers. He wrote the essay while taking an online writing class through Minnesota Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls about six years ago.

"I have a bit of a knack for it," Johnson said of writing. "I enjoy it."

Johnson sent his Memorial Day essay to the Minnesota Legionnaire, an American Legion publication, where it appeared as a guest column in March. From there, the editor of that publication sent it on to the national paper.

"I got a letter from the editor saying that I got first place," Johnson said.

But he doesn't have the award yet. The weekend the award was presented in Nashville, Johnson and his family had a vacation planned.

"We had it planned for a long time," he said. "The editor accepted the award for me."

Though Johnson has taken up writing, it is far from what he does for a living. He is a farmer and runs a gravel hauling business. He said he has done both "forever."

Johnson was enlisted in the Air National Guard in Fargo, but never had to go to war. He served eight months of active duty in Texas and Mississippi in 1969.

"I arrived in Mississippi the day before Hurricane Camille hit," he said.

Johnson has been a member of the Ashby Legion for 33 years. He is heavily involved with the Memorial Day program in the city. He writes in the quarterly newsletter that the Ashby Legion puts together for its 235 legion and auxiliary members.

The Legion members do a program at the Ashby school and Veteran's memorial. They also march from the school to the memorial. This is what Johnson's essay encompasses.

"I had to be rich with description," he said. That was the assignment for his class. "I describe the scene, but I describe my own feelings more."

Johnson said when he gets an idea to write about, it all flows together.

"The hard part is coming up with an idea," he said.

His writing class taught him about structuring his writing, which is what helped him write his Memorial Day essay.

"It's struck a chord with people," he said of his prize winning work. "Tough old guys will come up to me and say, 'That's how I really feel, too.'"

http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/articles/2004/09/28/news/news05.txt

Beaver's essay was printed in The Bulletin twice, in #103 Memorial Day & in issue #115


LTD Storybrooke

Tarradiddle-diddle
by Larry Dake

"Hi, I'm reroofing our old chicken house. I'm using two gallons of roofing tar to glue the roll roofing seams, and to cover over the nails. It's turning out pretty nice."

"This roofing tar is pretty amazing stuff! It sticks so well that you couldn't get it off if you tried!"

"If you can't get it off it stands to reason that it shouldn't get on anything else. Right?"

"Wrong! It's definitely on the trowel handle. And on my hands, too."

"Miserable mosquitoes! I could live without them. I just swatted one on my cheek and now I feel tar on my face."

"Oh for dumb -- I just wiped my cheek on my shirt, and now the tar's on my shirt!"

"I need to move down the roof line a bit. Yeah. Right here."

"When I stood up to move down here, I see I wiped my hands on my pants. Now there's tar a-l-l o-v-e-r my pants."

"I'm going to the house for a rag."

"Easy. Ladder's a bit shaky."

"Oh great, now there's black hand prints on the rungs of the ladder."

"Man it's hot!"

"I just ran my fingers through my hair to cool off a bit on the way here to the house and ... ooops, now the tar's on the door knob ... and in my hair."

"And it's on the rag-drawer. I'm wiping my hands on the rag but my hands are still black. And sticky. This is frustrating! I need a cup of coffee."

"I've got my coffee, but -- you got it! -- there's black finger prints on the stove knob, the coffee pot, the coffee can, the water faucet, and the spoon."

"I'm tired. Must be the humidity."

"I'll sit here on the living room chair and enjoy my coffee. I'm being ve-r-y careful not to touch anything. (Except my sticky cup, of course.)"

"Ah-h yes! Nothing like a little siesta in the afternoon! Maybe catch a few zzz's..."

"THERE'S TAR ON MY SHOE! ... and WHAD-DA-YA-KNOW!!! It's on the carpet too!"

"And the chair cushion is sticking to the seat of my pants!"

"Uh, see ya later -- dear reader -- this is getting wa-a-y sticky. I'm out'a here!"


Travelogue t

The Bolivian Beat
By Kjirsten Swenson

Editor's Note: Kjirsten has returned to Bolivia for a second year of independent study in Morochata, prior to enrollment in medical school at Baylor University in Houston, in 2005.

I'm back in Cochabamba after suffering a four hour uphill bus ride that slowly left Chapare's semi-tropical forests for Cochabamba's high and dry valleys. It was lovely to spend a couple of days relaxing in a hammock with a glass of icy starfruit juice in one hand and a good book by a Brazilian author in the other. I didn't do much else, besides venture out occasionally in search of fresh fish to eat or juice to drink. 'Twas paradise, really... It's the driest time of the year so there weren't even many mosquitoes feeding on me, but as the sun set the chorus of bugs and birds was downright loud. Sticky, hazy weather reminded me that I don't miss Houston.

One morning I did visit the Inti Wara Yassi animal refuge where volunteers work to rehabilitate formerly wild animals that were kept in homes and mistreated. Dozens of monkeys, birds, tortoises, and several pumas roam the unaltered forest. I saw lots of enormous butterflies and beautiful native birds during the hour I spent hiking around the refuge. The monkeys were especially fun... They climbed all over me and tried to steal my glasses!

My Bolivian family sends saludos to you! They were glad to greet me unscathed by the mala gente that grows coca and then fights with our Drug Enforcement Agency about it. Though I doubt that I resemble a DEA officer...

Tomorrow new SIT students arrive! I'm looking forward to dinner at Ismael's. I'll head for La Paz Thursday, that is if threats of transport strikes and road blockades don't become reality.

I'm off to meet Karina for Dumbo's ice cream!

Chau,

Kjirsten

A note on chau: In Italian, the proper spelling is indeed ciao. But Bolivia is far from Italy, and Bolivians do not speak Italian. Much of South America has adopted chau as the preferred goodbye word, I think through Argentina, which was heavily settled by Italians. And so, as in all written text here, it is spelled in phonetic Spanish. So, chau!

Coca leaves for sale Typical dress
Coca leaves for sale (left); typical dress (right).


A Garden Center in the Netherlands
by Ary Ommert, Jr.

The past weeks have been very busy for me but now I can say I have more time to do other things. In The past weeks some unexpected things happened in the Netherlands.

First we had Prinsjesdag ... on that day our queen presents the budget for the government for the coming year. This speech is supposed to be secret until the day the queen reads it in front of all the ministers. This year the content of the speech leaked out and was shown on TV days ahead. Everybody already knew what the queen was going to say that day. So here in the Netherlands we won't expect things will be much better; in many ways the government will spend less money and perhaps people will have to work until the age of 67 before they can retire. Many protest against that idea.

Second, the prices of gas in the Netherlands have reached a new record; for one liter of gas we pay now Euro 1.30 about $5.25 for a gallon. That must sound crazy to you!

Third, last week a popular singer died at the age of 53. His name is Andre Hazes and he was a singer who had a special lifestyle and that lifestyle perhaps caused that he died so young. He was very fond of drinking beer and even when he was on stage singing, you saw him drinking beer. His daily consumption was around 50 glasses of beer every day! His repertoire was popular Dutch music and he had many admirers. A farewell concert in the Ajax soccer stadium was visited by 50,000 fans and his coffin was on the mid circle of the field.

In the garden center, we have started to build up the Christmas show; we hope to be ready with it in 5 weeks. At that time schools have fall holidays and for us is a good period to open the show. Much work for us the coming weeks, also because we have to do it with fewer people than last year. Unpacking and pricing the articles is the main problem at the moment. Will keep you informed about it. My house plants get special attention from three women's magazines in the Netherlands, so we ordered all the plants that are published and hope to get many readers inside the shop.

Friendly fall weather is in the Netherlands now; the rest of the week will be mild and periods of sun, not much wind. In the weekend, even better!

Greetings from the Netherlands,

Ary Ommert, Jr.
Your Netherlands Correspondent

The queen's golden coach Queen of The Netherlands
A picture of our queen (right), and the golden coach she uses on the day she presents the budget for the coming year in front of all the ministers.


Johnson family portrait
A New Family Picture Of The Johnson Family
Whitney, Marlene, Kim, Heidi (front); Mark & Rich (rear)

Editor's Note: Episodes 1-3 appear in Bulletins 111-114 and Episode 4 was in Bulletin 116.

California, Here We Come! P

The Johnson Family Reunion, Day 5
by Kimberly Johnson

Saturday was full of fun and festivities as well! Actually not, it was just "Picture Day." You know, the usual -- kneel there, put your hands here; here's a comb (do something with that hair of yours), tilt your chin ... more ... more ... more ... there!, don't blink, smile and say peanut butter and jelly sandwich (or something)! That was about it, too. When the lady first got there, we asked her to take a couple trial Graduation Pictures, just for kicks. They turned out to be a flop -- but we plowed forward with the other family pictures, as well as group pictures.

As the day dwindled away, they got out the two 4-wheelers. These obviously kept the little boys busy, and the parents got to test out their vocal cords along with it. Oh well, no one got killed -- just a few close calls here and there.

This family is known for their eating habits, which usually consist of just eating a lot ... and often. Tonight was Grilled Pizza. Everyone was curious because who, in their right mind, would grill their pizza when the phone is right over there, and the only numbers you need to know are 4 and 8! We obviously thought it was pretty good... We've had it a couple of times since! The cooks for Sunday will have to re-schedule their McDonald's run and drag out the ol' cook books.

To be continued ...

Four-wheeling
Cousins take a ride: Caven C., Mark J., Colton W. & Bronson W.


This and That
6
by Elaine Wold
Wahpeton, ND

Mindy dropped off this poem and said I should send it to The Bulletin. Good to think about when we feel overwhelmed with a day's work. ~ Elaine

Editor's comment: Mindy Miranowski is Elaine's daughter and Don's niece.

Mama's Mama
Author Unknown

Mama's Mama, on a winter's day,
Milked the cows and fed them hay,
Slopped the hogs, saddled the mule,
And got the children off to school.

Did a washing, mopped the floors,
Washed the windows, and did some chores.

Cooked a dish of home-dried fruit,
Pressed her husband's Sunday suit,
Swept the parlor, made the bed,
Baked a dozen loaves of bread.

Split some wood and lugged it in,
Enough to fill the kitchen bin,
Cleaned the lamps and put in oil,
Stewed some apples she thought might spoil.

Churned the butter, baked a cake,
Then exclaimed: "For Mercy's sake,
The calves have got out of the pen!"
Went out and chased them in again.

Gathered the eggs and locked the stable,
Returned to the house and set the table.

Cooked a supper that was delicious,
And afterwards washed all the dishes,
Fed the cat, sprinkled the clothes,
Mended a basket full of hose.

Then opened the organ and began to play,
"When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day."


Celebrations & Observances
From the Files of
5
Hetty Hooper

October Holidays & Observances
O
October 11---Columbus Day (Observed)

October 10---Cody Printz
October 10---Hannah Aydelotte (3 years old)
October 12---Muriel Rodriguez
October 12---Tami Hunt
October 14---Douglas Anderson-Jordet

Happy Birthday!

More October Birthdays:
'
October 1---Brooklynn Ann Johnson (newborn)
October 4---Wesley J. Sigman
October 5---Leona Anderson
October 5---Steve W. Miller
October 7---Steven Anderson

October 18---Lori Anderson
October 18---Diana Martin
October 18---Dan Mellon
October 20---Wade Printz
October 22---Richard Johnson (Rich in MN)
October 24---Eric Shockey
October 26---Ardis Quick
October 27---Marlene Johnson
October 29---Samantha Jo Larson (10 years old)
October 30---Anne (Mellon) Montford

October Anniversaries:
Z
October 4---Donnie and Patty Anderson (7 years)

October 17---Troy and Marlee Freesemann (10 years)
October 27---Don and Gert Pettit (14 years)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miss Hetty's Mailbox:

Miss Hetty and Staff,

Thank you for the wonderful card! Rylie loved it, too! Looking forward to having you meet Brooklynn!

Wyatt


Aiden [Anne's son] was in the newsletter, born June 24, 2003. [His birth announcement is in Bulletin #59, September 7, 2003.] My birthday is October 30th (1974); revealing my age doesn't bother me ... I will be 30 this year. My husband is Julian Montford. I really enjoy reading the newsletter and would be glad to contribute if I have something interesting to report. Thanks again!

Anne (Mellon) Montford

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miss Hetty Says

Well, now, let me tell you that My Boss, Miss Dorothy, was pretty surprised to wake up on October 1 and realize she was now the queen of her own domain on the world wide web! She didn't see that one coming at all. Now you can surf her web site at http://www.thebulletin.ws/ to read many back issues of The Bulletin on line in the archives and look up the identities of people you don't know in Who's Who in The Bulletin.

Work has also begun on assembling collections of some of the best of The Bulletin from the archives, as they are refurbished and posted on line. The Danger Rangers and other stories written and illustrated by Douglas and Brianna Anderson-Jordet, respectively, is already in place, with more pieces to be added. Plans are afoot (I've heard) to create other collections of stories and recipes that can be browsed on line anytime. Likely candidates include Beaver Tales, LTD Storybrooke, The Family Cookbook and The Condensed Chef.

There are a couple of web galleries posted there, too ... one is from Frans de Been, a reader (and writer) from the Netherlands. And Donna Johnson's recent trip to Washington, D.C. with Beaver and Weston Johnson and Lori Chap is illustrated in Donna Does D.C.

What will they think of next? Maybe a search engine, so I can look up birthdays and anniversaries and recipes and stories by entering a key word or two. I love power tools!

Keep Us Posted!

Please drop Miss Hetty a line and tell us who, and what, we've missed. And how about a report (photos welcome) of YOUR special celebration?

'Many Thankse
Everyone!

Miss Hetty


+ LETTERS TO THE EDITORS?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What a great Bulletin this time with the new babies and all the rest of the interesting things. Photos really are great to see. Thanks, again!

Mavis (Morgan)


Beaver, I very much enjoyed your picture; it sounds like you all have enjoyed your trip to DC; we do envy you. I do have one little question though... How do they find people to buy "free" tickets???

Rich (Johnson)


Hi! I am Dan Mellon's daughter, Anne Montford; will you add my email address to the list? I really enjoy reading the newsletter. Thanks,

Anne (Montford)


I just talked to Sarah tonight and she said she'd like to be added to your e-mail list for The Bulletin. Sarah amd Mike Steinhauer's new e-mail address is: MIKARAH@peoplepc.com

Thank you,

Larry (Dake)


What a wonderful tribute to my great-grandfather! Thanks so much to all of you who contributed. I remember him as a very gentle person, but didn't know him very long. I believe he would have passed in the early 50's, when I was probably 3 or 4 years old. I'm guessing the picture of him holding Tom was taken in about 1947, since Tom was born in November 1945.

Thanks to all of you that help produce this newsletter. It has provided insights into my family I wouldn't have otherwise had. It's a blessing to have you and my dear Aunt Diana in my life and I'm thankful for your efforts to preserve our family history.

Someday I hope to meet Beaver. I feel like I know him already!

Dan (Mellon)

Editor's Note: Dan, I thought you might be interested in this information, taken from a book my niece Ardis Quick has done on our family ancestory: Grandpa Mellon was born 1/7/1873 to John and Mary Jane (Ellis) Mellon. He died 8/31/1958.


Received your latest Bulletin yesterday, and it is so enjoyable and a keeper! I just LOVED the article and pictures of Grandpa Mellon. I plan to share it with Julie, my youngest, who you met at the reunion a few years back. She loves this kind of family history.

If things fall into place for us, Russ and I are hoping to go out to Michigan for a few days the middle of this month to visit Julie. This is where our van comes in so handy! Like us, she doesn't have the extra room for overnight guests, so we bring our "room" with us!

The ground was white with frost this morning ... fall is definitely here! We lost all our squash and tomatoes when we had that early frost back in August, so guess we'll have to shop the farmers' market this year.

Got an update on Dave and Becky from Donna, and it sure sounds worrisome. Sure hope she heals well and quickly!

Diana (Martin)


My payment is really late and I have run out of excuses, I am afraid I will open up The Bulletin and read YOUR SUBSCRIPTION HAS BEEN CANCELLED! That would be a heartbreaker, because The Bulletin is so much fun to read. I like those "no name" characters in Doug's stories. For some reason it seems I could put a name to each one.

I would like to give everyone who came to the Cousins Picnic, a big THANK YOU. Mel and I had a lot of laughs getting it put together. I truly hope that now it is something that will happen each year. And thanks to Ernie and Carolyn for getting their kids to come. Hope that another year more of the younger generation will attend.

Gert (Pettit)


Another great Bulletin. I really enjoyed Kjirsten's letter. Such a talented writer! Glad she's back at it. Thanks, Larry, for your story, too. Missed Doug!

Marlene (Johnson)


Please include my son, Tim, at: maverickvz@msn.com (Maverick was the name of his dog).

I look forward very much to seeing it. I'll also see that my sister, Colleen, gets it. I don't have an e-mail address for her.

Tom (Mellon)

Editor's Note: Sometimes forwarding The Bulletin by e-mail works well and sometimes it doesn't ... due to incompatibilities between the various e-mail programs. However, Colleen could also read The Bulletin and browse the archives directly from the web site, at http://www.thebulletin.ws


To Elaine ~

Thank you so much for sending me those pins of Grandma Cleo's and yours. I really enjoyed getting them! They were great!!

Heidi (Johnson)

Editor's Note: Looks like a classified ad in The Bulletin brought excellent results! :)


I don't think I'm going to be able to get anything [on the Washington, D.C. trip] written for this week's Bulletin. I am leaving tomorrow morning for Michigan, and I haven't found time this week to do any writing. I'm not sure if my dad is planning anything this week or not. I will try to get something to you next week. Maybe I'll also write up my trip to Michigan. Four of my friends and I are driving there for the Gophers football game on Saturday. Should be a lot of fun!

Weston (Johnson)


CHUCKLES

 PREGNANCY Q & A

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.
 
Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.
 
Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.
 
Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?
 
Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.
 
Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.
 
Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.
 
Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.
 
Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.
 
Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

To search a name in Who's Who: use CONTROL F on a PC or COMMAND F on a Mac. To search for a second occurrence of the name, use CONTROL G on a PC or COMMAND G on a Mac. (This works on ANY web page with text, unless the text is converted to an image. Chances are, it works in your e-mail, too. I know it does in mine.) HINT: Search by first name only, as most entries list the family name once but do not repeat the last name for each family member.

Click here for past editions of The Bulletin in the web archive


THE STAFF OF THE BULLETIN

&

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY: There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. -- John Andrew Holmes

EDITOR'S POLICY: If you wish to subscribe to The Bulletin, simply send me a statement of that fact. If you wish to keep receiving it I hope you will contribute to one of the columns that are running in this family epistle (at least occasionally!). My e-mail address is dma49261@juno.com


This Bulletin is copyright Dorothy M. Anderson; the contents are also copyrighted by the authors and photographers and used with their permission, and the contents are not to be used for any commercial purposes without the explicit consent of the creators.


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